Education 330X
Teaching English Language Learners: Issues in Policy, Leadership, and Instruction
Spring Quarter, 2014
Monday and Wednesday, 9:00-10:50
Instructor: Kenji Hakuta
The issue of addressing the needs of English Language Learners has come to the forefront of education reform in the United States primarily as a function of demographic change and a categorical focus on the student population in the current ESEA law, known as No Child Left Behind. In addition, in the past year, as the re-authorization of ESEA has become unlikely, the regulatory waiver process initiated by the administration has increasingly taken on the force of law. Furthermore, the new context of the implementation of the Common Core State Standards, adopted by 45 states, has added increasing urgency to the issue of inclusion of ELLs. This course will explore key issues that arise as educators consider key problems in this area. They include the constraints and incentives in federal laws and policies (particularly ESEA and Civil Rights laws), the Common Core State Standards, content and language proficiency standards assessment and accountability, on-going student assessment, school improvement models, school culture, community engagement, addressing issues of long-term English learners, programming for newcomer ELLs, early childhood education, and promoting bilingualism. The course will cover basic background readings on these topics as well as those specific to English Language Learners. Discussions will be grounded in the real-time context of networks of school district and state-level educators addressing issues of instructional reform. Students will have the opportunity to participate in some of these discussions and to conduct case studies of how theory plays out in real time in the context of California school districts.
The course requirements are active contribution to class discussions and projects such as the crafting of policy memos and analyses, and a final paper. The final paper should be an analysis of a specific problem of policy, leadership or instruction pertaining to the education of ELLs. It may take the form of a traditional research/term paper, a research proposal, or a policy analysis that identifies the key issues and develops recommendations. An optional format other than a paper is a well-annotated powerpoint presentation on any of these topics. Projects are due on June 9 at 5:00 PM.
Week of March 30: Carrots and Sticks in Policy History
Slides 3/30, 4/2
Hakuta, K. Educating Language Minority Students and Affirming their Equal Rights:
Research and Practical Perspectives (AERA Brown Lecture). Click here.
Lau v. Nichols (1974) Click here
Glance (do not attempt to read!) and highlight portions from NCLB: Title I and Title III law. Click here. (if the USED website is down, try this.) See section §9101(25) for a definition of an ELL.
Three OCR memoranda (5/25/70, 4/6/90, 9/27/91) Alternatives: (May 25, April 6, September 27)
To see how the Department of Justice may tie together the OCR memoranda, see this sample finding of violations from DOJ. Click here.
Ramsey, A. & O'Day, J. (March, 2010) Title III Policy: State of the States. ESEA Evaluation Brief: The Englis h Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act. American Insitutes for Research. Click here.
Boyle, A., Taylor, J., Hurlbut, S & Soga, K. (March, 2010). Title III Accountability: Behind the Numbers. ESEA Evaluation Brief: The English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act. American Insitutes for Research. Click here.
Tanenbaum, C. & Anderson, L. (March, 2010). Title III Accountability and District Improvement Efforts: A Closer Look. ESEA Evaluation Brief: The English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act. American Insitutes for Research. Click here.
Week of April 7 (note: no class on 4/7 due to AERA): Current State Policy Issues
Hopkins, M., Thompson, K., Linquanti, R., Hakuta, K. & August, D. (2013). Fully accounting for English Learner performance: A key issue in ESEA reauthorization. Educational Researcher, 22(10) 1-8.
Linquanti, R. & Cook, H. G. (2013). Toward a "Common Definition of English Learner". Washington, DC: Council of Chief State Schools Officers. Click here.
Historical document: Stanford Working Group (1993). Federal Education Programs for Limited-English-Proficient Students: A Blueprint for the Second Generation. Click here.
Class on April 9: Join a meeting of the CCSSO ELL Advisory Task Force via webex. Login information will be e-mailed to you on April 7.
Week April 14: Symbolic Politics of Bilingual Education
Crawford, J. Bilingual Education (on reserve)
Continued discussion: April 21 - read Proposition 227 Evaluation Reports http://www.air.org/project/evaluation-proposition-227
Week of April 21: Standards-Based Reform in the Era of Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards
Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management, ETS (2012). Coming Together to Raise Achievement: New Assessments for the Common Core State Standards. April, 2012. http://www.k12center.org/rsc/pdf/Coming_Together_April_2012_Final.PDF
Read today's New York Times top news article on Common Core (as "Obama Core"). http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/20/us/politics/republicans-see-political-wedge-in-common-core.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=1.
Understanding Language Initiative. http://ell.stanford.edu Browse website, read under papers the summary paper and:
Under the Language and Literacy tab: (1) Van Lier and Walqui, and (2) Wong Fillmore and Fillmore papers
Under the Practice and Content Areas tab: skim all three, read one deeply
Under the Policy and Building System Capacity tab: read (1) Santos, Darling-Hammond and Cheuk, (2) Pompa and Hakuta.
Week of April 28: English Language Proficiency Standards (that correspond to college- and career-ready standards)
Council of Chief State Schools Officers (2012). Framework for English Language Proficiency Development Standards Corresponding to the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. Click here.
California ELD Standards
WIDA Standards
ELPA21 Standards
Week of May 5: Assessment and Accountability Systems
Supporting English Language Learners: A Pocket Guide for State and District Leaders. American Institutes for Research (2012). Click here.
New York State Blueprint for ELLs. Click here.
Teacher Evaluation: CCSSO Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) Report. Click here.
Formative Assessment Practice: Watch first session of MOOC: Learning from Your Students: A Lab Course in Formative Assessment Practice in the Era of the Common Core State Standards.
Week of May 12: ELD Instruction
Bayley, R. (2010) Explicit Formal Instruction in Oral Language: English Language Learners. National Research Council: Paper prepared for the Committee on the Role of Language in School Learning
Dutro, S. & Kinsella, K. (2010). English Language Development: Issues and Implementation at Grades Six through Twelve. In Improving Education for English Learners: Research-Based Approaches. In Improving Education for English Learners: Research-Based Approaches. California Department of Education.
Carnegie Corporation of New York (2013). Opportunity by Design: New High School Models for Student Success. Click here.
Week of May 19: District Leadership
David, J. & Talbert, J. (2013). Turning around a High-Poverty District. San Francisco: S. H. Cowell Foundation. Click here.
Bryk, A., Sebring, P., Allensworth, E., Luppescu, S. & Easton, J. (2010), Organizing schools for improvement: Lessons from Chicago. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Williams, T., Hakuta, K., Haertel, E., et al. (2007). Similar English Learner Students, Different Results: Why Do Some Schools Do Better? A follow-up analysis, based on a large-scale survey of California elementary schools serving low-income and EL students. Mountain View, CA: EdSource. Click here.
Council of Great City Schools (2009). Succeeding with English Language Learners: Lessons Learned from the Great City Schools. Washington, DC: Council of Great City Schools. Click here.
Week of May 26: State Leadership
Assignment: Interview a state leader of ELL or a Title III assessment director and find out what are their burning issues in leaderhip at the state level.
Week of June 2: Wrapping it up: What do Long Term English Learners (LTELs) Represent?
Olsen, L. (2010). Reparable Harm: Fulfilling the Unkept Promise of Educational Opportunity for California's Long Term English Learners. Long Beach: Californians Together. Click here.
Short, Deborah J.; Fitzsimmons, Shannon, Double the Work: Challenges and Solutions to Acquiring Language and Academic Literacy for Adolescent English Language Learner. New York: Carnegie Corporation of New York. Click here.
Cook, H. G., Boals, T., Wilmes, C. & Santos, M. Issues in the Development of Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives (AMAOs) for WIDA Consortium States. Wisconsin Center for Education Research. Click here.